Snowstorm

OK, so I'm writing a new short story. It's supposed to get into the mind of a psychotic woman. And it's about murder (first time I've ever tried this topic out). So yes, what my cousin told me before I started to post this is true: it comes off as creepy. But if you find it disturbing, I encourage you not to read. I refrain from swearing so cursing/obscenity will not appear whatsoever. I personally don't see it as that creepy as, obviously, I'm the one who came up with it. I think my cousin exaggerated but to each his (really it's a her) own. Anyway, I hope you like it. Leave a comment (or check off the thumbs down or weird reaction if you like) if it does come off as creepy because my cousin is the only one I allowed to hear it. Here it is. (There is a background on the woman so there will be little confusion. It's a really short story so I didn't go into depth with her character; it's just a briefing.)

Background: Charity Ball has always had an illness, she’s inflicted with a personality disorder. A personality disorder cannot be cured. When she was little she used to kill her pets (and other animals), boil their blood over the stove, and proceed to drink it out of a cup. Her parents tried to get her help but it was all in vain. The doctors couldn’t “fix” her. Under the care of a special program, she was released in her 20s as they helped her assume a new identity. Before she was Charity Bell, she was Kylie Lawrence. For a while, she seemed perfectly healthy and was no longer under watch. She eventually met Guy Jones in which they married and produced a child, Kent Cyrus Jones aka K.C. Jones. Meanwhile her mental state slips little by little and her family soon fades to black.

It was really cold that night; I can remember the ice pellets of the brisk snowstorm clapping against the window glass. I had been in another argument with my husband and I was sitting up in bed… gazing at the reflection off the window. I saw myself, tearstained and tired. I’ve had enough, I wanted to die that night. But something rather… peculiar… kept me from offing myself apparently. I had this urge to get up from bed but I just sat there, looking through the glass. But then, as I recall, I saw the oddest of birds perch right there on the window sill: a hawk! Yes, a hawk in the middle of blizzard! I remember thinking how bizarre, but it pulled me closer to the window. Just there staring up at me as I slowly paced my fragile legs over there. I thought, such a beautiful creature it was. Especially in the middle of this weather. As I neared, I stroked its very image and it almost felt as if I could feel its own magnificent feathers. Time felt like it lasted a few hours longer in those two minutes. As I goggled the hawk’s brown, it proceeded to make this loud and unbearable squawk that seemed to make my ears bleed. I felt this unbelievable anger towards it as I brought my hands to my ears. It wouldn’t shut up, it wouldn’t shut up! I fell to the floor and banged on the window, “SHUT UP!! SHUT… UP…!”

“What’re you doing?”

I swiftly turned around and there was my husband Guy, standing above me. Our 2-year old sliding ever so helplessly over his father’s manly hip. Their eyes on me, I looked back and said in a loud voice as if the hawk was still screaming, “There…! There, the hawk was there. And it was screeching. And, and…”

“Hawk? There is no hawk… You did leave the window open, though. It’s freezing in here.” He let our son down. I smiled softly at him but he clung to his father’s pants’ leg. “Can you close it, please?” I didn’t get up and didn’t even answer, my hands still over my ears but loosely. Guy sighed and walked over to the window. Before he went to close it, he asked an awkward question, “Is… is that blood?” He turned around at me, pointing at the some thick liquid dripping down the edge of the window. “Did you hurt yourself? I don’t see any cuts. Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah, uh huh. I’m fine, Guy,” I shook my hands. “They’re okay, nothing to worry about.” I got up and closed the window. Looking back at him, I repeated sternly, “I’m fine…”

As if in defense, Guy put his hands up, “Ok, ok, just asking.” I could feel his eyes burn through me as I returned to bed. He took K.C. back on his hip, “Dinner’s almost ready, something new… Speaking of hawk earlier, do you eat it…?”

So this part isn't the end. There is another part that comes with this. That will come in my next post. I swear it will be longer than this.. So wait till then. See you next time ;-)

 

Creative Imitation of the Gospel of Luke

Previous post aside, I am providing another one of my stories. This project was due way back in May. Since I hadn't been on in a while, I never thought to put this up. But I was extremely pleased with it and my grade for it. I had missed class that day when the writing project was being explained and yet I was still able to get a high grade on it. (I will refrain from stating any grade as I don't find it important to share over a blog.) This was a creative imitation and I had to look up what the heck it was before I started writing it. Out of all our options, I decided to do the New Testament since I found it the easiest to understand than the rest of our readings which included Socrates, Plato, Dante, Ivan Ilyich and the Old Testament (a philosophical, but not necessarily, type of class). I would've done Dante but I didn't know how to recreate the story. Anyway, the NT (or rather to avoid offense, the Christian Bible) gave me easy access to recreating a modern version of faith and philosophy. The teacher in the story bears resemblance to Jesus, but he is in no ways Jesus just to make things clear. We'd been told to explain our reasoning behind the story, so there is an explanation within the paper. So enjoy:

¹ He was nothing but a mere teacher; the difference between him and other teachers was that he was a teacher adored. ² People from all over would come to listen to his wise words. Not a foolish thing slipped out his mouth. ³ We loved him and we couldn’t believe that such a sagacious being was among us. ⁴ None of us dared keep his wise words to ourselves; we had to spread them. ⁵ But as soon as word was out and about, danger ensued. For the teacher was accused of treachery, and he was to be brought in for questioning. Our teacher was one who’d gather others in protests against injustices made to the citizens in our country. ⁶ The governor hoped to bring us all in. ⁷ We told the teacher what was happening and he took us all away, in private, to a small, rural area outside the city. ⁸ But of course, our small group wasn’t enough. Many of his students had heard of his departure and came to follow him.

            ⁹ Speeches about freedom, about faith and hope, speeches about what’s yet to come. ¹⁰ No one seemed to understand his words at first. ¹¹ He was a bit…eccentric…but he dummied it down so we could understand. ¹² And we believed every one of his words, whether others thought him crazy or not. ¹³ Dusk had come and we wondered if everyone would be safe out here. We all came from a bustling city; we never came close to the outskirts unless it was to a resort in the countryside. ¹⁴ But the teacher grew up in the outskirts; he knew almost everything there was to it in order to survive. ¹⁵ He told us, “Just let them sleep.” ¹⁷ We, students, looked at each other and back at him, “But, sir, there are bears out there. ¹⁸ And we can’t possibly defend ourselves against these…beasts…” ¹⁹ He raised an eyebrow as if annoyed, but he calmly said, “Do we have any cans? Like soda cans or anything similar?” ²⁰ We replied, yet quizzically, “Yes?”

            ²¹ “Then go find some pebbles. Place them in the cans. And there you have it.”

            ²² “What is ‘it’ exactly, sir?”

            ²³ “A rattlesnake.”

            ²⁴ Again his ideas proved quite odd, but we listened obediently. ²⁶ Searching for pebbles in the dark wasn’t easy but we managed. ²⁷ We placed them carefully in the empty cans as if one pebble dropping to the ground would end the world immediately. ²⁸ We shook them and realized just how alike to a rattlesnake a measly can and teeny pebbles sound. ²⁹ Later on, one of the students encountered a bear sniffing around in our things. He looked around for the teacher only to find him fast asleep. ³⁰ Everyone else has woken but lied still in fear. ³¹ The student looked on anxiously at the can beside him.

            ³² Finally overcoming his anxiety, he took the can and faced the bear. He put his faith and trust in our teacher. ³³ He shook the can to make it sound like that deadly, slithering creature. ³⁴ It got the bear’s attention and he yelled at the bear, “Leave! Shoo! Go back to the forest where you came from!” ³⁵ And he threw the can beside the bear, where the small stones made such a loud, hissing sound. ³⁶ We thought him an idiot for making such a ruckus, but in reality, ³⁷ the bear was so afraid of the fake sound that it scurried off. ³⁸ The teacher barely gave us instructions, yet one of his students was able to ward off the bear. ³⁹ It was truly amazing. Something like a miracle! ⁴⁰ We looked back at the teacher, who still, after so much commotion, was still fast asleep and didn’t stir once. ⁴¹ If we just had more faith in the teacher like that one student did, ⁴² we wouldn’t have been quivering in fear. ⁴³ And our knees were shaking so badly, it felt like they were going to cave in. ⁴⁴ But the teacher was calm from the start, and for some odd reason, our fears ceased. ⁴⁵ We all slept and were satisfied. ⁴⁶ The pebbles in the can were extremely tiny and the can had not been sealed. ⁴⁷ But when we awoke the next morning, ⁴⁸ not one of the pebbles had fallen out. ⁴⁸ Yesterday night, we were so careful not to spill any. ⁵⁰ We were happy because they were secured inside the soda can, unstirred.

I chose to imitate Luke, one of the gospel writers of the New Testament. In the Gospel of Luke, I chose text Ch. 9:1-17 to illustrate the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. In my imitation, I did not include any names nor did I claim any numbers. But the moral theme of the story remains. The teacher is not exactly like Jesus, but he is an extremely charismatic leader who has a way with words. The teacher comes from the rural areas which gives him knowledge of his and his students’ whereabouts. In the forest, rattlesnakes can be prominent and bears usually steer away from them. The fact that the teacher grew up in an area like this exempts him from performing miracles. He’s just a guy who knew how to “tame” wild animals.

            The style of the story basically followed the text, especially at the beginning. And to add to it, I decided to put in superscriptions that the Bible uses as verses. The thematic style behind the stories within the chapter was about faith in God. And with faith comes God’s miracles. I decided to get rid of the miracle aspect of the story and rely on pure knowledge. As Jesus in the Gospel of Luke had faith in God, the teacher had faith in his upbringing. It seems like a miracle at the end but it’s far from it. The stones became a mere coincidence that alluded to Jesus’ miracle in the feeding of the 5,000. Close to the end of the imitation, I used a direct line from the chapter: “We all ate and were satisfied” becomes “We all slept and were satisfied”. This was to simply touch upon the followers’ reactions to their teacher. All in all, the basis for the imitation was faith and the knowledge that the teacher held.